Upper management at DieboldDirect, one of the country's leading suppliers of ATM and drive-through supplies and accessories, decided in January that 2008 was going to be the year they become known as the company that cares.

A short time later, one of their male service technicians working 300 miles away in Indiana contacted the DieboldDirect home office in Canton, Ohio, to suggest they begin marketing pink drive-through vacuum tubes in support of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer awareness network.

According to Pamela Barron, director of DieboldDirect, the idea caught on, and DieboldDirect now also markets Susan G. Komen for the Cure receipt paper, money envelopes, name tag lanyards and other supplies all over the country.

"For every item from our pink product line that is purchased, DieboldDirect will donate $1 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Our goal for this, our first year, is to contribute $10,000," Barron said.

Six hundred miles from Canton, in Orangeburg, SCBT thought pink drive-through tubes were a pretty good idea, too. In February, SCBT's St. Matthews Road branch and the main office purchased and began using the pink drive-through vacuum tubes.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure was established in 1982 by Komen's sister, Nancy G. Brinker. In a 2007 report published by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Brinker states that she promised her sister she would do "everything in her power" to spare other women and families the pain of breast cancer. Brinker is making good on her promise. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is now the world's largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists advancing research, education, screening and treatment.

SCBT St. Matthews Road Manager Diane Dukes said customers are interested and appreciative of what the pink tubes symbolize.

"We've had questions and positive feedback, and while that is good from a business standpoint, more importantly we are reminding people to be conscientious about breast cancer," Dukes said.

"We'll be using the Susan G. Komen for the Cure pink supplies as long as DieboldDirect sells them," she added.

For more information about breast health and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, call toll free 1-877-GO-KOMEN or visit www.komen.org.

1 in 7 women will face breast cancer during her lifetime.

T&D Correspondent Leigh W. Joyner can be reached by e-mail at mickeyjoyner@oburg.net@ntinet.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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